Fixer (Darkside Seattle)

by L. E. French

  [VictoriaGodhandSystem: Image storage 98% full.]

  My to-do list gained an item—sort through my saved images and download the ones I didn’t want in my head anymore.

  Her face fell. “Ross is here to pick you up.”

  Weeks ago, Dad had arranged for Ross to escort me in his stead. Before he left yesterday evening, he’d reminded me to play nice without the usual admonition to try dating him. That moment had been refreshing. I still lamented keeping Marie a secret from him for so long.

  “Sooner I leave, sooner I return.” I took her hand and kissed the back. We walked to my office together. “Don’t wait up. I’ll wake you when I get back.”

  “Don’t cause too much trouble.” She waved from the bedroom door.

  The hem of my dressed kicked out with every step in my two-inch heels. I met Ross at the limo landing pad. He looked good in his tux, with his precisely arranged hair. Every movement he made seemed stiff, suggesting Dad might’ve told him to back off. Finally.

  We remained quiet until Ross asked if I knew who we’d see at the party. The question seemed innocent enough. I offered the list and we chatted about which targets deserved priority. With Dad, I would’ve had a similar conversation. My evening had a basic script and a loose schedule. But I’d done this a thousand times, and none of it mattered much. These parties provided nothing more than ordinary networking.

  Our host’s home not only cut off access to the WAINet, it boasted AR overlays for every wall, window, and fixture, allowing his guests to select from multiple themes for our own visual and aural enjoyment. Bots rolled around three rooms and a patio carrying trays full of sparkling wine, designer narcotics, and finger foods. With our evening attire, we fit in among the guests, who ranged from my age to borderline-decrepit.

  I kissed cheeks, laughed at horrible jokes, and ignored men patting my ass. Ross and I split up and mingled separately. Thank goodness. He could’ve clung to my arm, but instead circulated like an adult.

  After finishing a glass of wine, I excused myself to the bathroom I’d used at a dozen or so previous parties. On my way out of the bathroom, I ran into someone in the wood-paneled hall separating us from the party. The lights had been turned off, and I saw only his silhouette, but I smelled Ross’s cologne. I shrank against the wall to shuffle past. He blocked me with his body and wrapped an arm around me.

  “Who is he, Vickie?” he purred into my ear. Alcohol had turned his breath sour.

  “None of your business.” I wriggled to escape his grasp. He held on tighter.

  He licked my ear. “You’re mine.”

  In the past, he’d groped my ass and brushed his chest against mine. He’d come close to nibbling on my ear once. On several occasions, I’d suffered through him kissing my hand. Never had he licked any portion of my body.

  I shied away from him. “That only works for desserts.”

  “You’re my dessert.” He shoved me against the wall.

  Fear flared in my belly. I met his gaze and saw restrained violence. “Back off—” My voice cracked. Shoving against him did me no good. He resisted my efforts without trying.

  He pressed his mouth to mine and proved both that he didn’t know a damned thing about kissing and he’d had too much to drink already. I turned my head. His hand flew so fast I didn’t see it coming when he slapped me. Pain exploded across my cheek. Then he muffled my scream by shoving his hand over my mouth.

  “What’s his name? I swear, if you scream when I take my hand away, I will beat you so fucking hard you’ll have to go to the emergency room.”

  Sparks of panic jolted through my body to my fingers and toes. With alcohol keeping him from controlling himself, I believed him when he said he’d beat the shit out of me.

  Another guest stumbled into the hallway, her heels giving her trouble in the dark. She giggled. Ross hustled me through a door as the lights flickered on, his grip too strong for me to overcome. He’d found a guest bedroom, the last place I want to wind up alone with an enraged man of any kind. I wanted to be here with Ross even less.

  My heels betrayed me. I fell to the floor between the door and the bed. Ross pounced on me. Lying on my back, I tried to push him off. He grabbed my wrists and pinned my arms over my head.

  With his nose an inch from mine, he growled, “What the fuck is his name?” His eyes flashed with rage. His bitter breath choked me.

  I flinched away and squeezed my eyes shut. Helpless against him, I prayed for someone to stumble across us.

  “God, you’re beautiful tonight.”

  Fuck. From what I knew of him, I could guess he got off on control, like Senator Gates. His thoughts had, perhaps inevitably, wandered to sex. While I could handle sex with men, I didn’t enjoy it much. His fresh intent, of forcing it on me, churned my stomach with terror.

  I thrashed. I rolled. I wriggled. I kicked.

  In the middle of it, he hit me in the gut. I threw up, spraying bile and half-digested wine into his face. He squawked and rolled off me, swiping his jacket sleeve across his face. Sparking with raw, fear-fueled anger, my mouth dripping with disgusting acid, and tears streaming down my cheeks, I planted my knee between his legs and scrambled to get away.

  He flailed and wailed, curling around his crotch. Despite his distress, he snared my ankle. I kicked. He howled and clutched his wrist. All I cared about was that he let go. Lurching to my feet, I gasped for breath.

  Ross moaned in a ball. I spat at him and kicked him in the shin. He whimpered. With him on the floor, defeated, I straightened and looked down my nose at him.

  “I’m a lesbian, you asshat. There is no ‘he.’ ” With that, I stormed out and avoided the party on my way to the front door. My implant reconnected to the WAINet. The limo came at my call. I held everything together until I climbed in, shut the door, and entered my preferred destination.

  Hugging myself in the leather seat, I broke down and cried. My whole body shook. Nothing made sense. Ross hadn’t done much, but I still felt scared and violated. Despite knowing I flew over the city at two hundred feet, part of me expected Ross to rip the limo door open and attack.

  The limo landed too soon and not soon enough. My eyes blurry from tears, I stared at the door. Somehow, my mind whispered, Ross had beaten me here. Any moment, he’d rip the door open. But I needed to get out of this dress. I couldn’t breathe in it.

  Smacking the release, I stumbled out and wobbled to the elevator. The doors opened too fast and not fast enough. How had I not lost a shoe? The fucking things kept me from running. I wanted to rip them off my feet, but I wanted to reach my bedroom more. At least no one saw me.

  I reached my office door and locked it behind me.

  “You’re awfully ear—” Marie stepped into the doorway wearing a lavender teddy I’d given her for her birthday. She covered her mouth and sucked in a breath. “What happened?” When I shook my head, she rushed forward and put her arms around me. “Never mind. Come here and let’s clean you up.”

  Trying to stop weeping, I let her guide me. I sat where she wanted and covered my face. Her soft, deft hands removed everything holding my hair together. As she worked, she made soothing noises and let me cry. She pulled my shoes off.

  “Tori, are you bleeding?”

  I opened my eyes. She held up my shoe with blood spattered on the heel and bottom. Sniffling and shaking my head, I wondered if I’d killed Ross. He could’ve bled to death on that floor. How did I feel about that? No idea. It swirled into everything else.

  When I didn’t answer because I could only stare, she helped me out of my dress and wrapped me in a soft, fluffy robe. She tucked me into bed and snuggled with me. After a while, I stopped crying. I felt like I’d been wrung out. Marie kept me warm. Without her, I knew I’d be empty and hollow.

  “Ross attacked me at the party,” I finally said in the dim, flickering light of a fake fire Marie had set up on the screen across from the bed.

  “Attacked you?”

  “He was drunk.” />
  Marie squeezed me. “And you stabbed him with your shoe. Because you’re incredible.” She kissed my neck. “Amazing.”

  She chased away the last of my chills and reminded me why I loved her.

  CHAPTER 7

  Marie groaned, waking me on Sunday morning. “Too early,” she grumbled.

  “For what?” I kept my eyes closed and brushed my nose against Marie’s neck. I spooned her, my arms wrapped around her. Her fierce warmth blazed against my bare skin.

  “For Jay. He’s got your trains. Wants to know when to meet.”

  I cracked an eye open to check the time in my visual display—8:34am. We’d slept in. “After lunch. Call it one in the afternoon. Get a message to Figueroa’s office to set up a meeting for me as soon as possible. I’ll get breakfast.” Slipping out of the covers, I found my robe in a pile on the floor.

  With a sigh, Marie rolled onto her back and watched me slip into the robe. “How long after the meeting with Figueroa until the B&E project is done?”

  “Depends on the speed of the votes. Could be a day, could be a month. I wouldn’t expect longer than that, though. My guess is by Friday.”

  “I’ll have my replacement come in tomorrow so he can get the hang of the job.”

  “You don’t want to run some interviews or anything?”

  Marie waved me off. “I hired someone three months ago. He’s been handling secondary matters and is already up to speed on Jay. I’ll spend a day or two helping him find the groove, then I’m going to lounge about and eat bonbons until you’re ready to get me knocked up.”

  I laughed as I crossed the room to our small kitchen to fetch pastries and juice.

  “Jay confirms he’ll be there.” She batted her eyelashes at me as I brought a plate to bed. “Whatever shall we do until you have to go?”

  “We can probably think of something.” I swiped my finger through sweetened cream cheese on a danish and smeared it across her lips. She licked my finger. “Thank you for last night. I think I can face Ross tomorrow, and that’s because of you.”

  “Maybe you should leave the blood on your shoe and wear those heels.”

  “I love you, woman.”

  Hours later, I landed my car next to Jay’s nondescript gray sedan with the jammer active. He hopped out of his car with a brown paper bag and slid into the passenger seat of mine.

  Flashing me a brilliant grin, he handed me a paper bag. “Model is handmade and functional, chocolate is Swiss. As promised. Your BowerTech op is set to run tomorrow night. I’ve got a location to stash the meat assets until you’re ready to transfer them. The tech assets will be delivered Tuesday morning. Preliminary estimate says it’ll take four vans. Which facility do you want them sent to?”

  “Seatac. Prep to move the meat on Thursday. That’ll give a full day to arrange the lab with the acquired tech before they’re brought in. You have my permission to tap one if needed to keep the others in line.” By the time Dad returned from his trip, the whole BowerTech situation would be taken care of.

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ll make sure the operatives know that. You need anything else?”

  I thought about asking him for a quote on hitting Ross. Dad liked him, though. If I could poison that, I didn’t need Ross to die. Besides, I could live with avoiding otherwise empty rooms with him. I’d tell Dad that I couldn’t work parties with him, so that situation would never happen again.

  “Plan to take a vacation after the BowerTech op,” I said. “Because I’m going to. At least a week, maybe two. Probably take me another week to ramp into a new project.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’ll lie low. Maybe hit the beach for part of it.” He grinned. “It’s awful this time of year, so no one’ll think to look for me there. There’s a few new contacts I’d like to cultivate, too.”

  “Thanks, Jay.”

  “My bank account thanks you in return. Take care of yourself and good luck with the train thing.” He slipped out and shut the door.

  I went home. By some bizarre miracle, no disasters or messages from Ross interrupted me from enjoying the rest of the day. Marie and I went out to dinner as boss and secretary, then I let her drag me along while she shopped for a cute dress to get married in. I expected to marry her at the courthouse over lunch on a weekday, so I didn’t think she needed special clothes, but I didn’t mind buying her a pretty dress.

  CHAPTER 8

  Monday morning came with my Dad on vacation and Ross filling in for him. Instead of me. Because I had other things to worry about, or some crap like that. Regardless, bright and early, as Marie straightened my suit jacket for me, I got a message from Ross.

  [RossLynch: Would you please come to the CEO office at your earliest convenience?]

  “What’s wrong?” Marie asked.

  “I didn’t think I let that show.”

  “Not much.” She traced my eyebrow and let her finger trail past my eye. “I see it here.”

  “Hmph.” I didn’t like being easy to read, but maybe only Marie could see it.

  “So, what’s wrong?”

  I sighed. She didn’t need to worry. “Ross wants to chat.”

  [VictoriaGodhand: I’ll be there in a few minutes.]

  Marie’s eyes narrowed. “Tell him to go to hell.”

  Smiling at my beloved defender, I kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ll be back soon. To do work. Because it’s Monday.” I left without giving her a chance to distract me. When I returned, she’d be in her work clothes and work persona, giving away nothing but the ordinary devotion of an employee loyal to her employer. The day she never had to force herself into that box again would be a good day.

  I nodded to Viola on my way into Dad’s office. Ross sat in my father’s chair, tapping on my father’s tablet at my father’s desk. He looked comfortable. Too comfortable. I almost wondered if he wore one of my father’s suits, but Ross had broader shoulders and two inches of height on Dad. He’d probably taken socks and underwear.

  Ross raised his head to watch me approach the desk, his expression inscrutable. I stopped a few feet away and crossed my arms. A skin-tone bandage poked out of his shirt cuff. Otherwise, he seemed fine.

  We stared at each other for several seconds. With every fleck of my will, I wanted him to cave.

  He cleared his throat and broke eye contact to flick his gaze to my chest. “Malcolm asked me oversee things in his absence. Did you have anything you wanted to report?”

  Apparently, we would pretend nothing had happened. I considered whether to play along or not. Dad slotting Ross into Acting CEO chafed. Technically, Ross had the power to fire me. Not that the Board of Directors would allow him to when I owned one third of the company’s stock and Dad owned another third, but he could shut me out for a day or two. “No.”

  “Are you sure?” He reached under the desk, probably groping for the jammer switch. I did not want to ever again wind up alone with Ross in a room without a WAINet connection. “He said you’re usually busy enough over the weekend to have a report on Monday mornings.”

  “You were at the party, you saw how early I left. And I decided to take a day to myself yesterday. Which shouldn’t shock anyone, as it was Sunday.”

  “Ah. Yes. The party.” He leaned back in the chair without activating the jammer, getting much too comfortable in the fine leather. “I don’t remember much about what happened.” Something about the way he watched me made me wonder how much he did remember. Probably more than he wanted me to believe. “I seem to have had a little more wine and less food than I should have. Dinner on the way would have been prudent. For both of us.”

  I didn’t want to discuss it. When Dad returned, I’d chat with him about it. Bothering him during his vacation with something distressing seemed wrong. He needed that annual trip to unpack his memories of Mom.

  “Did you want anything else?”

  Ross stood and buttoned his jacket. He smiled at me, and it felt predatory. At least he hadn’t turned on the jammer. With his arm out to embrace m
e, he approached. I thought about punching him in his smug face. Instead, I turned to head for the door. He closed the distance faster than I expected and put his arm around my waist.

  “I think we’ve had some misunderstandings. Have lunch with me. We should chat outside of the office.”

  [MarieSclavo: Meeting with Figueroa is set for two this afternoon.]

  [VictoriaGodhand: Good.]

  I flashed Ross a fake smile. “I already have plans.”

  “Are we back to that old routine?” Ross sighed. His hand slid to my ass.

  Disgusted by him, I stiffened. Before I could pull away, he shoved me forward and pinned me to the door from behind.

  “Get off me or I’m calling the cops,” I growled.

  He let go and backed off, holding up his hands in surrender. “I can’t control myself when you wear skirts like that.”

  Glaring at him, I yanked the door open. “Try,” I spat. I stormed out and slammed the door shut.

  The short walk to my office did nothing to cool my temper. Maybe I needed to message Dad after all. I breezed past Marie and into my office, slamming that door shut too. Hitting things might’ve made me feel better, but I settled for the solace of mundane, boring work.

  [MarieSclavo: It went well, I take it. Brad is here whenever you’re ready to meet with him. We’re going over workstation tasks for the moment.]

  [VictoriaGodhand: That fucking sonofabitch. I’d like to murder him.]

  I rubbed the back of my neck and tilted my head to stare at the ceiling. Without Marie, I thought I’d fall off the deep end.

  [VictoriaGodhand: Give me about fifteen minutes, then bring him in.]

  For that time, I let the mundane details of running a department threaded through the entire company distract me. Then I met my perky new secretary, a kid fresh out of college with more optimism than I ever remembered imagining, let alone having. He smiled and called me Ms. Godhand while bouncing around the office.

  Watching Brad as he inspected everything bolstered my mood. He put a smile on my face. Marie and I listened while he gushed about a wide array of topics, from his favorite music to the color of his grandmother’s wallpaper. Everything seemed exciting, amazing, or beautiful to him. We took him to lunch, and he loved everything about SkyCity. Provided he could settle and get the work done, I knew Marie had made a good choice.